TBH, I find that if the music is too good it can distract from the film because I'm too busy singing along or anally reciting who the artists are, eg last night's Grosse Pointe Blank - lots of Clash, Pixies and The (English) Beat for those of us d'un certain post-punk age. I irritated my wife something rotten singing along to those. Then there's the wonderful Diner and all that Jimmy Reed and Elmore James. That film brings to mind another possible thread - immortal music-related lines/comebacks:-

"Hey, <whoever> settle an argument for us - who's the best, Mathis or Sinatra?".

"Presley."

I like music that introduces and sets the scne for a film - Waits' Jockey Full of Bourbon at the start of Things to do in Denver When You're Dead or indeed the Belleville Rendezvous dames at the start of that wonderful animated film of last year.

As for the combination of music and fim, Phillip Glass and Powaqqatsi is wonderful. Can't really listen to the music without the visuals, though.

This was aired tonight (on BBC4) immediately after Charlie's show. It features - among many memorable images - a wonderful mix of music and camerawork in which James Fox's "Chas" takes his first tentative steps into Mr Turner's world, to the soundtrack of The Last Poets' "Wake Up Niggers".

The juxtaposition of music and visuals in these few minutes left my jaw on the floor. More than any amount of expositionary dialogue could, it dragged the viewer, along with Chas, into a world beyond understanding and took the film to yet another level.

I must admit, this was the first time that I had watched this movie - though I knew it by reputation - and I was amazed at how good it was.

Waits is always a great way to begin a movie. His 'Invitation to the Blue's begins Nic Roeg's Bad Timing with such style and his Rain Dogs album is LIKE a movie.
I recently bought an interesting soundtrack album by Simon Fisher Turner called 'Swift' with several tracks co-written by Gilad Atzmon. What was interesting, apart from the haunting music, was the fact that the music preceded the film. Turner wrote the album and then asked Adam Shepherd to make a 50 minute film collage to accompany the music. For the normal price of a CD you also get a DVD of the resulting film. Each track has it's own mini movie with it. My favourite simply shows an unfurling cloud of smoke for seven minutes as a sample of a French woman's soft voice speaks over a Satiesk piano.
I do love some of the less esoteric stuff too though. John Barry never fails to deliver and Morricone's music to The Mission is sublime despite having now been over used in commercials.

What comes to my mind first is from 69, I think. I can certainly remember going to see it at the local flicks with Little Brother and Mother one school holiday. I'm the king of the swingers yeh the monkey's VIP, .........

the utterly utterly utterly brilliant Carmen by Carlos Saura
all done flamenco style with some heart rending singing and an intensity that melts your eyes and ears

I dug the VHS out for my daughter who likes dancing and ended up being demolished just like I was 20 years ago when I first saw/heard it (this is probably an entry for the 'what got you into WM' thread too) - the combination of music and movement in the fight at the tabacco factory left me choked and speechless, again

Thank you for reminding me of Carlos Saura, Mark. His 'Blood Wedding' had a profound impact on me in the early 80's. One track in particular had an extraordinary chord sequence which I could never quiet work out on the guitar.

Another one that springs to mind for me was Etta Jame's 'At Last' in 'Pleasantville'. It's lush stings juxtaposed to her amazing voice coming out those big cimema speakers almost made me feel like I was hovering above my seat! I went straight out the next day to get a compilation album. For me she is the female equal of Ray Charles when it comes to giving the otherwise syrupy balad a bit of edge.

I have only just seen this strand & am adding to the orginal post by you Rob on the 18th of June. I couldn't believe it when I saw "Ghost World" because(as you mention) it opens with an excert from a Bollywood film of one of my all time fav chessy tracks but I had never seen the film it came from or the sequence they showed there. In the film itself the girl then goes on to become obssesed by Skip James's 'Devil Got My Woman', a piece of music that did the same for me(& a lot of other people I'm sure) for a long time & would still be on any definative list for me. You didn't mention whether you knew what the Bollywood song was, so just incase. 'Jaan Pechaan Ho' by Mohammed Rafi from the film 'Gumnaam' & it can be found on 'Golden Voices From the Silver Screen Vol 3' which came out on Globestyle in 1990. The rest of the disc contains the usual Bollywood fair by the usual suspects(Asha, Lata. Lata, Asha) but this is definately the highlight.

Yes, I got hold of the "Ghostworld" soundtrack and it kicks off with 'Jaan Pechaan Ho'. The rest of the soundtrack is excellent too, if you skip the graduation rap and the deliberately bad blues band track. Highly recommended. Also, it introduced me to the wonderful Lionel Belasco, who must have been one of the first musicians to popularise Caribbean music abroad. Check out the Rounder album: "Goodnight Ladies and Gents: the creole music of Lionel Belasco". Fabulous stuff.

And any discussion of "Ghostworld" must take Robert Crumb on board. Since his days with his Cheap Suit Serenaders, he's now performing with "Les Primitifs du Future" - an acquired taste, I'm afraid, that I can only take in small doses. However, he has recently compiled an excellent compilation of female singers from around he world, taken from early 78s; it's called "Hot Women - Women Singers From The Torrid Regions Of The World" and is a fascinating insight into what constituted "world music" back in the early part of the 20th Century.

Also, if you can hunt down a copy of Robert Crumb's "That's What I Call Sweet Music" - his complation of jazz dance orchestras from the 20s - then you're in for a rare treat.

But beware if you are sensitive to non-PC attitudes where women are concerned - Crumb is notoriously dysfunctional where women are concerned.

And finally, while I'm at it, another soundtrack recomendation: "Big Bad Love". It features Asie Payton ("I Love You" again - possibly the 3rd copy I have of this song, but always good to listen to) , RL Burnside, T Model Ford, and excellent contributions from Tom Verlaine, Tom Waits and Steve Earle. Worth it for Tom Verlaine's "Sleepwalkin'" alone.

Rob, thank you for that positive avalache of ideas. The Lionel Belasco somehow completely past me by at the time, I'll give it a go (Thanks also Howard for that Art Blakey tip, a number of his recordings have passed through these hands but not heard of this one).

Had a couple of other ideas for great music in films. In 'Southern Comfort' towards the end when all hell is breaking loose, the Balfa Brothers sitting there playing(I think) 'Parlez Nous A Boire' & another tune. As the version they played wasn't one I had heard before I asked at a shop that only deals in film & theatre music if it was available but they were certain it had never been released as a soundtrack despite also featuring that king of the soundtrack,Ry Cooder. Anyone know different?

Also as Tom Waits seems to get a look in everywhere what about Coppola's 'One From The Heart' which teamed him up with Crystal Gayle of all people. At the time I had rather thought that any singer with hair that dragged along the ground was just a gimmick but the gal can sing, an inspired pairing. She must be due for a revival with some bright young thing(The Streets feat Crystal Gayle anyone). Seem to remember the film took a critical mauling at the time but, apart from another director trying to pass Nastassia Kinski off as an actor I have good memories of it.

Back to that Mohammed Rafi track, I feel on the cusp of a 'top five tracks world music tracks that tickle me fancy when I'm drunk' coming on. Perhaps when I have figured out how to put music out there(or is this a capital offence now?) I'll make them available to listen to online. Is Jimmy Shand 'World Music'?

Yes, Ry Cooder's Southern Comfort soundtrack is certainly one of his better pieces of film music. As far as I know, the Southern Comfort soundtrack has never been released in the shops, but I think an excerpt appeared on a recent compilation of Cooder soundtrack compositions.

I really enjoyed the school reunion scene in Jonathan Demme's film, Something Wild, which features the Feelies performing live. A pity the Feelies contribution wasn't included on the LP soundtrack release.

Although I've not heard the relevant soundtrack albums, I recall Kaurismaki (sp?) having some really entertaining musical sequences in his films, Man Without a Past and Leningrad Cowboys Go America.

The sequence of songs used in the recent soundtrack to Morvern Caller works really well, but my favourite soundtrack of original material is probably the John Lee Hooker/Miles Davis collaboration in Dennis Hopper's Hot Spot movie (not that great a film, though).

David - thanks for the reminder about Southern Comfort, an excellent film and the build toward the scene with the dance and the 'hunt' intercut is fantastic. I seem to remember it inspired a whole excursion into Cajun music for me - starting by squinting at the blurry VHS freeze-frame of the credits and trying to decipher the bands name and then off to Tower to see if I could get it.

The fate of that pig reminds me of a piece of film music in the very similar scene at the climax of Apocalypse Now, a superb use of The Door's 'The End'